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How To Cook Frozen Food In Your Air Fryer

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Learn how to cook frozen food in your air fryer for a quick and easy way to thaw, heat up leftovers, and cook pre-made frozen foods. The air fryer gives frozen food the best texture and cooks it up quickly with little mess.

Air fried frozen food on a blue platter.
Photo credit: Emmeline Kemperyd / alwaysusebutter.com.

If you're completely new to the air fryer, I recommend you start by going to my Air Fryer Get Started Guide, and then come back here to cook up some delicious frozen foods.

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Why The Air Fryer Is Great For Cooking Frozen Foods

  • It's quick, much quicker than using the oven.
  • It's easy, at least as easy as any other cooking method.
  • Less grease and oil compared to deep fat frying or cooking stovetop. We need just a little, or no, oil when air frying!
  • Great texture thanks to the circulating air. It crisps everything up on all sides and cooks the food evenly so there's less risk of overcooking it.
  • Super simple clean-up. No oil to get rid of, no parchment paper to throw away, no pan to clean... and most air fryer baskets you can just pop in the dishwasher after cooking!
sweet potatoes on a plate next to a dipping sauce
Photo credit: Emmeline Kemperyd / alwaysusebutter.com.

General Process for Air Frying Frozen Food

When air frying frozen foods, there's one simple, general process to follow - no matter what you're cooking. There are just a few decisions to make along the way, and I will walk you through each of them below.

1. Do I Need To Defrost My Food First?

No, in general, it's best to air fry frozen food straight from frozen. This is always true for pre-cooked storebought frozen foods like French fries or mozzarella sticks. It's also generally true for other foods like steak, salmon, sausages, bacon, and chicken.

2. Should I Add Oil?

I recommend adding a little bit of oil for almost all foods, as I find it helps with the crisp and that perfect golden color. One of the few exceptions is when cooking fish sticks, where I find oil makes them soggy, even if you add just a little bit.

  • For most frozen foods, I recommend adding a small amount of oil.
  • Instead of oil, you can also use cooking spray.
  • Oil helps crisp the food up and gives it a nice golden color.
  • Too much oil can make the food soggy instead of crispy.
  • You can use olive oil or a neutral cooking oil, or whatever oil you generally like to use for cooking.

3. Choosing The Right Temperature

The temperature you choose can make a big difference. Here are some tips to help guide you:

  • Generally, go one step below what you would use in the oven. The recommended oven temperature for frozen foods will usually be stated on the bag.
    • If the bag says 400°F (200°C), go for 350°F (180°C)
    • If the bag says 450°F (225°C), go for 400°F (200°C)
  • For frozen foods filled with cheese, like mozzarella sticks or chili cheese nuggets, keep it at 350°F (180°C) to avoid the cheese leaking out.

4. Should I Preheat My Air Fryer?

Generally, I do recommend preheating your air fryer. However, when cooking frozen foods, this does not make as much of a difference.

I usually preheat it if I have time, and if I'm in a hurry I skip it. Skipping it often adds a few minutes to the cooking time, but sometimes that's preferable.

5. How Much Can I Cook At The Same Time?

You don't want to overcrowd your air fryer, as this will affect the result negatively.

  • For the crispiest result, always cook in a single layer.
  • Fries, potato wedges, veggies, etc. can overlap, but you should still not fill your air fryer basket more than halfway - the less overlap, the crispier the result!
  • Steaks, chicken, spring rolls, dumplings, and similar foods should always be cooked in a single layer.
  • If your food is frozen together, for example when cooking multiple burgers, you can air fry for a few minutes to thaw, and then separate them.

6. How Long Should I Cook It?

A great thing about the air fryer is that it's so easy to check on your food while it's cooking. So you can start with a rough idea of the time and then adjust as you go.

As with the temperature, the bag your food came in will give you a good starting point, adjusted as follows:

  • Generally, the food will cook in about half of the time it would in the oven
  • A smaller air fryer, will cook the food quicker

7. Do I Need To Flip Or Mix The Food?

Despite the air fryer circulating the air, I find you get the best results when you flip, mix, or shake your food at least once halfway.

8. When Is It Done?

How you decide when your food is done depends on what type of food you are cooking. Regardless, using a meat thermometer is the easiest way to check for doneness.

If you don't have one, cut into the food and check that it is adequately hot and/or cooked all the way through.

a chicken wing being dipped into blue cheese sauce
Photo credit: Emmeline Kemperyd / alwaysusebutter.com.

What Frozen Foods Are Good To Cook In The Air Fryer?

I have yet to find frozen food that is not great when cooked in the air fryer! Some of the best frozen foods to cook in your air fryer include:

FAQ

For more answers to all your Air Fryer questions, check out my extensive Air Fryer FAQ.

Can you put frozen meat directly in an air fryer?

Yes, you can absolutely cook frozen meat straight from frozen in your air fyer.

Do you have to thaw chicken before air frying?

No, you can cook chicken straight from frozen in the air fryer, but it will take longer than cooking it after thawing.

Can you cook a frozen TV dinner in an air fryer?

Yes, you can! Just make sure the container is safe for the oven (this means it will be fine in the air fryer as well) and that it fits inside. If not, you can move it to another oven-safe dish that fits first.

Does frozen food cook faster in an air fryer?

Yes, compared to the oven, frozen food cooks faster in an air fryer.

Air fried frozen food on a blue platter.
Photo credit: Emmeline Kemperyd / alwaysusebutter.com.

Specific Cook Times & Temperatures

Below you will find cook times and temperatures for common frozen foods. For most of these, you can click the link to go to a full guide to cooking this specific food - complete with tips & tricks.

These cook times have been tested in a Philips HD9252/90 Air Fryer* and a Ninja Foodi DZ401 DualZone XL*. Cook times can vary with your air fryer model.

Side Dishes & Veggies

Beef & Pork

  • Steak: 10-15 minutes at 390°F (200°C)
  • Bacon: 7-9 minutes at 390°F (200°C)
  • Meatballs: 6 minutes at 350°F (180°C)
  • Burgers: 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness) at 400°F (200°C) + 5 minutes resting
  • Sausages: 12-14 minutes at 390°F (200°C) for thin sausages and 360°F (180°C) (thick sausages)
  • Hot Dogs: 8-10 minutes at 390°F (200°C)

Chicken & Turkey

Fish & Seafood

Vegan & Vegetarian

  • Veggie Burgers: 10-12 minutes (depending on thickness and type) at 400°F (200°C)

Snacks & Appetizers

More Air Fryer Resources

About Emmeline Kemperyd

Emmeline Kemperyd is a writer, food blogger, recipe creator and food photographer and the founder of alwaysusebutter.com. She has 20+ years experience creating and simplifying recipes so they taste good, and are quick, easy, and approachable. She is a regular contributor to MSN and her work has been featured by The Guardian, Well+Good, Vulture, SheKnows, Good Men Project, and The Feed Feed, among others.

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